A US official on Sunday expressed the US administration’s opposition to the Israeli government’s vote on a controversial bill that entails a de facto annexation of West Bank settlements to Jerusalem.
The official who spoke on condition of anonymity said that the US is discouraging the actions that it believes will distract the concerned parties from focusing on the advancement of peace negotiations.
He continued that the Jerusalem expansion bill is considered one of those actions Reuters reported.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday decided to delay the vote on a draft law to include a number of West Bank settlements under the Israeli-controlled Jerusalem municipality.
Chairman of the Israeli government coalition David Bitan announced based on Netanyahu’s instructions that the vote on Greater Jerusalem bill will be delayed until political coordination with the US is made despite that fact that a ministerial committee was scheduled to vote on the bill on Sunday to expedite its submission to the Knesset to be ratified.
